Search hotels in Isola del Gran Sasso dʼItalia

Isola means an isle. Actually it is the one beneath the Northern slopes of Gran Sasso. Direct lines from your navigator show very close distances to all famous peaks but it is very difficult to get them from the Northern side. The proplem is that Isola massive isjust about 500 - 1000 meters above SL. So you should make 1500 - 2000 meter ascent to reach the peaks. Then, the trails from the Isola side looks rather abandoned and unequipped. The marks are poor and random. The best trails start from Pretara district. Some promissing trails start from Casale San Nikola but they are unlabelled. So, climbing from the North side turns your trip to very sporty affair. First kilometers go through the forest. You hear the birds but see nothing but bushes. While you reach the open places you can see, but it can be done by very strong men, because the wives and children are steam out by this time. Alternative way is go to the Petit Tibet (road SP3, 37 km to Fonte Vetica and about 55 km to Campo Imperatore). There are many (good? well equipped? - to my mind not too good) marked trails. The goal is that they start from 1600 (Vetica) and 2100 (Campo). But the road is very beaten (especially after the cross to Farindola). My record time is 50 min to Fonte Vetica, typical timing was 1 hour, 2 hours roundtrip. Maybe Schumacher could do it for 45 :). Surely, this Petit Tibet presents awfull views and great possibilities for trekking. I think these places are the best that you can take from Gran Sasso region (In this regards, Castle del Monte and SS di Sesannio present more possibilities). I do not recommend using the trails on SP37, they are come through wild forest and avalanche remnants. All this makes climbing rather problematic. Anyway, you'll get plenty of pleasure and impressions from Isola massive.